Speculations continue about the exact reasons behind the abrupt resignation of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The fanfare with which Dhankhar was elected as Vice-President was not there when he exited silently. There was neither a farewell function nor were there any speeches by top leaders extolling his tenure.
Why did Jagdeep Dhankhar resign abruptly? I have some inside information why he had to quit.
Actually, he was becoming an embarrassment for the government and he was creating hurdles because of which he had to resign.
Let me explain how the confrontation began.
One, since the time Dhankhar became Chairman of Rajya Sabha, he sought to give the impression that he was very close to the top leaders of the government and whatever he does has the blessings of the top leadership. You may remember, how a Trinamool Congress member made a mimicry of the Vice-President inside the parliament premises and Rahul Gandhi had circulated a video of that mimicry. The reason behind that incident was to project a narrative that as Chairman, Dhankhar used to regularly clash with opposition leaders. They were convinced that Dhankhar was not allowing them to speak in the House and insulting them at the behest of the government. This created regular confrontation between the government and opposition.
Two, some months ago, Dhankhar Sahib made direct attacks on the judiciary. He targeted the Supreme Court and spoke about the ‘supremacy of Parliament’. Most of the judges began feeling that the Vice-President was doing this at the behest of the government, since he was projecting himself to be close to the top leadership. The situation came to a pass when a confrontation between the judiciary and the executive was about to begin.
Three, when Dhankhar Sahib was persuaded to tone down his stance, he reportedly became angry and started reminding ruling party leaders how, as Vice-President, he had been defending the government umpteen times and how he put the prestige of his post at stake because of this. The chasm began to widen.
Four, Dhankhar Sahib began carrying his grievances about the top leadership to RSS leaders and several top ministers. He also mentioned his grievances while meeting opposition leaders and senior media persons. His grievance was that nobody in the government was listening to him, he was feeling suffocated, and he wanted that his pleas be forwarded to the Prime Minister, otherwise he could take some extreme step. This was a sort of threat – a direct tussle with the government.
In the final phase, Dhankhar Sahib started throwing tantrums. He met senior Congress leaders and gave time to meet Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal. He narrated his problems to them. He tried to take up the matter of impeachment of Justice Verma in his hands, knowing that the government was moving the same motion in Lok Sabha. When top leaders of the government felt that the Chairman could create an embarrassing situation in Rajya Sabha, a situation of open confrontation could arise, a final phone call was made.
Without mincing words, the message was conveyed that if Dhankhar Sahib did not change his attitude, the ruling party could even bring a motion of impeachment against him. Dhankhar Sahib did not, in his wildest dreams, think about this. He made a mistake in his assessment about the top leadership, his gamble fell flat, and as a final step, he decided to take the exit route.